Russian NT 2014

    Quote from Maven

    Marichev said that in this weekend Malykh will play as starter and Obmochaeva will stay at bench.





    Yes but when the Russians begin to lose hardly Marichev Obmochaeva will leave the bench 8o

    I'm glad Gamow returns, but what will happen to Obmochaeva Kosheleva .... Well, would find it difficult to ... Marichev unlikely to let them all three on the field, although their attack would be great, but the protection and reception ......

    Gamova team and hopefully punish Brazilian World :mad:

    A personal appreciation on Natalia Malykh


    It was about a year ago, in the Montreaux Volley Masters 2013. The game was Brazil X Russia, and I really didn't know what to expect from the new Russian team. Actually, after the gloomy performance at the London Olympics in the previous year, I somewhat gave up to follow the Russian NT, and the women's volleyball in general.


    The game started. I could recognize some of the Russian players by name – like Isaeva and Chaplina, but most of the girls on court were completely new to me. Among them, was a skinny girl, resembling more a teenager than a grown woman, whom the Brazilian commentator announced as the Russian opposite. It was Natalia Malykh. “So this little girl is theirs new Opp,” I said to myself. “Well, Russia has really reached the bottom.”


    But then she received her first ball. Pankova made a quick short set over Zaryakhzo's head and Malykh, approaching the middle coming from zone 4, with a fast jump crushed the ball right in the Brazilian court. What a kill! Then, a few points later, in a long set from zone 1 to zone 4, Malykh confidently jumped to spike the ball over her head and place it in the parallel of the Brazilian side. The game kept going on, Russia was tactically a mess, Brazil was totally dominating the clash, but the skinny girl looked great!


    Next Sunday, the final. Again, Brazil X Russia. This time, Malykh began on the bench. But, in the second set she entered along side Matienko. Again, she killed the majority of the balls she received, and every time the camera closed on her, she was displaying a defiant, even arrogant expression on her face. “This girl has something to deliver”, I thought.


    And so began my interest in Malykh, and, with it, the renewal of my passion for volleyball, and for the Russian team in particular.


    I watched all the matches I could of her club season, but, in my opinion, her next great moment came in the WGCC played in Japan last November. This was the first international tournament where she was a starter, and she delivered a fast and furious performance, with high jumps and a powerful arm swing, hitting the ball like a whip. Anyway, although very efficient, in the end, her spikes looked still a bit predictable and mechanical.


    And then, finally, the last special moment from Malykh came in the Montreaux tournament 2014. Here, she uncovered a new dimension of her game. It was no longer just about high jumps and fast spikes, but also about clinical placements of the ball with a sensitive touch, finding exquisite angles in the opponent's court almost like an snooker player.


    This is Malykh. A 19 to 20 year old girl who, in the short space of one year, has already shown an amazing development in her game.


    I know that my opinion may be biased by my personal affection for her, but I believe that, in 4 or 5 years, Malykh will be one of the 2 or 3 best players in the world. Let's see.

    well it's good to have diversity of opinions, i mean we wouldnt want to look at a forum like this:


    poster1: gamova is the queen


    poster2: gamova is the queen


    then from poster 3 to poster 8 will repeat what the 1st 2 have said :lol:


    I wasn't talking about the diversity of opinions. What I mean was the level of language and quality of context. "Gamova team and hopefully punish Brazilian World" kinda comment means nothing whereas detailed analysises or assertions with some supporting arguments add a lot to this forum ;)

    well it's their choice they can use short phrases or longer sentences, mmn and actually there was not so much arguments put forward what he/she did was give us personal observations which is good to read since even though they might not be entirely accurate or full of personal bias at least it's like reading a novel that an author gave so much dedication too.

    Quote from serdar


    I wasn't talking about the diversity of opinions. What I mean was the level of language and quality of context. "Gamova team and hopefully punish Brazilian World" kinda comment means nothing whereas detailed analysises or assertions with some supporting arguments add a lot to this forum ;)




    Cool, just fans and those who love Russian volleyball understood me ... Because the pain of 2012 is very large .... And my problem is that I write novels and analyzes or I'll write a few words :win:

    Here in my opinion is Russia's strongest roster for WCH:


    S: Kosaienko, Startseva
    OPP: Gamova, Obmochaeva, Malykh
    MB: Morozova*, Shlyakovaya, Zaryazkho / Morozova*, Podskalnaya, Fetisova
    OH: Kosheleva, Pasynkova, Scherban
    L: Kryuchkova, Malova


    Reasoning:
    Gamova is the 1st choice for OPP; but I doubt she will be subbed by Obmochaeva/Malykh
    Kosheleva is also 1st choice for OH, Obmochaeva can replace her (no loss of power if Koshe will be subbed, Bavykina definitely out); 2nd (defensive) OH can either be Pasynkova/Scherban (not really a big difference between the two)
    The MBs are really the hardest one IMO; Morozova must be 1st choice; and Marichev can have two combinations: Natsya S. is also a good blocker but attacks better in front of the setter, Zaryazkho altho not really playing as good, I think her height (196cm) will be really useful for certain teams; or Marichev can select the two new MBs Podskalnaya (good slide attacker, blocking can be improved) & Fetisova (very promising blocker, but I havent seen her attacks so far so this slot can also either be: Natsya S/Zaryazkho)

    in Ankara i noticed a hidden competition amongst Russian OHs and Opps.
    especially amongst Pashinkova-Sherban and Bavykina...all of these players did their best to convince Marichec for WcH.
    i also sensed a competiton between Malykh and Obmochaeva...Malykh didnt start well,got blocked afterwards, Obmochaeva came in the game and she had a smiling expression on her face as if she was happy with Malykh's bad performance.
    Bavkina seems to be a better attacker than Sherban and Pashinkova but her reception isnt enough and therefore Pashinkova will be preferred to her by Marichev which will be correct.Sherban is a balanced player to Bavkina. So Pashinkova-Sherban will seem to be at WcH.


    for middles : i wouldnt choose Fetishova just she was a good blocker... i would take Morozova-Shalyakovaya- Moroz ?? to wch

    A review on Russia's participation on the first round of WGP.


    I wasn't expecting much from the team in the first week. According to Marichev's schedule, the first part of the practice sessions are supposed to be devoted manly to the physical conditioning of the team. But, to my surprise, the good work on the technical aspect is already showing some results.


    The defense looks sharp, the reception is functioning relatively well for this stage, Malykh is improving her service in every game, and Kosheleva showed a surprising good shape. The bad note so far is Obmochaeva's poor form. I think she could have prepared better on her own before joining the team, as Kosha did. Anyway, I hope that in the next round she displays a better performance. The team will need her.


    Now, about the matches.


    Russia X USA: After three defeats in a row, Russia had something to prove against the Americans. Actually, in their last two encounters, Russia began in full power, but was unable to keep their level thanks to American's serve.


    This time, though, USA began better, but Russia turned the tide in it's favour as soon as the blocking coped with the American's fast setting and transitions from the outsides. As Marichev declared in a post match interview, he believes that this is the key to beat the American's.


    On individual level, Scherban is given hopeful signs that she can cope with the pressure at the highest level. One negative aspect about her game, though, is that she forces too much her tips on the opponent's sidelines, making silly unforced errors. But the special mention goes to Kosha's amazing match in attack. It was essential to the win, easing the responsibility to score from Malykh's shoulders.


    Anyway, I still think that the American's didn't showed their best game. They accepted Russian's reaction a bit too much, and didn't forced their service as they could. In sum, I'm not sure if Russian's reception line was really challenged this time.


    Russia X Japan: I believe that, in normal conditions, Japan isn't really a big challenge for the Russian's. With a bit of patience with Japanese's defense and a good block positioning, the Russian's artillery will normally say the last word over Japan.


    On the individual level, Fetisova's poor game in attack deserves some thoughts. I think that Fetisova has good spiking skills, as she showed in Zarechie in the last SL, and also in the game against the Dominican's in the Yeltsin Cup last month.


    To me, Fetisova's shortcoming in attack lies mainly in the lack of strength of her spikes. Against USA she started to show a bit more confidence, hitting harder on the ball. But, against Japan, she returned to her usual cautious stile, and the Japanese great defense wasn't really challenged.


    Russia X Turkey: in the first two sets, Russia's system started to show some fatigue. Turkey prevailed basically positioning a double block in the outsides, and spiking from zone 6.


    In the 3° and 4º sets, Russia's comeback with triple blocking reminded me a lot the game against Germany in the last year's WGP. It's amazing how much pressure they puts on the opponent's spikers.


    And here, justice be made. If there is an element in which Pasynkova excelles Scherban, it is the blocking. Sacha has a really aggressive blocking, stretching her arms inside the opponent's court, always with great timing.


    If the 3° and 4° reminded me the game against Germany, the 5° set reminded me a lot the game against Brazil in the last WGP. Russia collapsed mentally, and that is something I was no longer expecting from this team, especially after their win at the ECH, and the victory over Brazil at Montreaux.

    Marichev's harsh complain at Bavykina, her crying afterwards, and the paralysis of the team when they needed to show aggressiveness to keep the momentum, was really frustrating to watch.
    Next weekend against Brazil, mental control will be vital.


    About the individual performances, I think Podskalnaya was great. One important aspect is that she, from the 3º set on, started to vary her spikes, attacking not only wide at the outside, but also closer to the back of the setter. I believe this variation will be important in the future.


    Fetisova's serve is also worth mention. Since the finals at the Challenge Cup, I notice that, anytime the heat of the game grows, Fetisova usually misses one serve after another. In the first set last Sunday, though, Fetisova went to serve at 19X24 and had the guts to serve confidently till Turkey finally close the set with 25/23. The girl is strengthening mentally.

    Quote from Canter

    in Ankara i noticed a hidden competion amongst Russian OHs and Opps.
    especially amongst Pashinkova-Sherban and Bavykina...all of these players did their best to convince Marichec for WcH.
    i also sensed a competiton between Malykh and Obmochaeva...Malykh didnt start well,got blocked afterwards, Obmochaeva came in the game and she had a smiling expression on her face as if she was happy with Malykh's bad performance.
    Bavkina seems to be a better attacker than Sherban and Pashinkova but her reception isnt enough and therefore Pashinkova will be preferred to her by Marichev which will be correct.Sherban is a balanced player to Bavkina. So Pashinkova-Sherban will seem to be at WcH.


    for middles : i wouldnt choose Fetishova just she was a good blocker... i would take Morozova-Shalyakovaya- Moroz ?? to wch


    Regina Moroz? :white: I'm not so sure if she's better than Podskalnaya or Fetisova. Marichev may possibly take 4 MBs, Zaryazhko unfortunately has been playing so weak,I don't see her spot clearly for WCH...


    Well I haven't noticed her missing serves but what I have noticed is that all opponents are having a really tough time passing her serve.. It's nothing special a standing floater, but the way she hits the ball is so clean, so the ball doesn't move and it's always at the end of the court so opponents don't know if they should pass it or leave it..

    Quote from Emil

    Regina Moroz? :white: I'm not so sure if she's better than Podskalnaya or Fetisova. Marichev may possibly take 4 MBs, Zaryazhko unfortunately has been playing so weak,I don't see her spot clearly for WCH...


    i forgot to mention pOdskalnaya.. i liked her slides in Ankara. Moroz was a good blocker,wasnt she?

    Quote from Canter


    i forgot to mention pOdskalnaya.. i liked her slides in Ankara. Moroz was a good blocker,wasnt she?


    She is pretty decent but doesn't have the level to play in NT. She definitely is a good player in terms of blocks, but her attacks? no way. If she gets to play in NT and Startseva is the setter, she won't ever get any balls to attack :whistle: My choice ---> Morozova, Shylyakhovaya, Podskalnaya and Fetisova.